The art of technical drafting demands precision and accuracy often beyond the levels achievable by unaided freehand drawing. Many specialized drawing instruments and pens have been developed to aid the draftsman to produce steady, straight and clear lines of uniform width and ink density. For these purposes it is desirable that the inkpen be held steady during the drawing process and necessary that the pen be held at a constant angle to the paper. Devices for stabilizing pens are also useful for and sometimes specifically developed for aiding physically handicapped persons to write and draw in spite of restricted dextrity. Examples in the art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,362,992 and 2,178,755, both of which indeed steady the drafting pen and hold it substantially vertical relative to the paper surface. The devices in the art, including those cited, however, are of limited utility for precision drafting in that the pen is commonly supported a significant distance above the contact point of the pen nib on the paper, and this distance reduces the ability of the support to steady the pen tip. Further, the devices in the art can be cumbersome where there is no means to readily adjust the contact of the pen to the paper by varying the pressure to produce desirable effects such as varying the line width. Finally, a number of the devices in the art while steadying the pen also surround it to the point that it is difficult for the draftsman to view the pen nib to paper contact point until the instrument is removed from the area being drawing upon.